Volume II - Chapter 6: Tempest in the Woods
Some time has passed since the 'earthquake', the older teens and dog stood outside of the bus while the CMCs and Spike stayed inside for safety. They were all awake and shaken due to the quake and they were wondering what could've caused it. Twilight already explained the situation to them, as well as the sudden disappearance of Sunset. Many were worried for the safety of their friends and were debating if they should go look for them.
Just as Twilight was about to suggest going out and search for them, she spotted something coming out of the woods. To her relief, it was none other than her two friends in question and the blue hedgehog, who was walking towards them.
"Sunset, Rainbow Dash, Sonic! Oh, thank goodness you’re all okay!" she exclaimed.
As they got closer, Twilight frowned when she noticed all of their features. Both Rainbow Dash and Sonic had uneasy and guilt expressions as if they were caught with their hands in a cookie jar. But what really caught Twilight’s attention was Sunset’s expression.
She couldn't quite make it out, but Sunset appeared to be angry as well as disappointed, no doubt had something to do with what those two speedsters had done. However, Twilight could also detect other emotions from Sunset eyes: sorrow, shame, and guilt. This made Twilight all the more concerned for her friend. Something must have happened that caused her friend to feel worse than she does before the earthquake.
Before Twilight could say something to Sunset, it was Applejack who spoke first.
"Ah’m glad y’all safe, but mind tellin’ me what the Sam Hill just happened?" Applejack inquired with a frown.
“Yeah! We even saw this pretty rainbow wave in the sky!” Pinkie added as she pointed towards the direction of the sky in question.
While Rainbow and Sonic were nervous from the question, Sunset frowned deeper.
“Why not just ask these two!” Sunset stated coolly, glaring daggers at the two, particularly at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow winced when all of her friends turned and glared at her, still mad at her from her behavior earlier and waiting to hear her explanation. Realizing that can't get herself out of it, she gulped.
“Um… well…” Rainbow spoke nervously.
“Skittles here challenged me to a race, so we did,” Sonic cuts in, much to Rainbow’s annoyance from the nickname. “She even pulled this new move on me during the race!”
Rarity crossed her arms with an angry frown. “So Rainbow Dash was the cause of this earthquake. Why am I not surprised!”
“Hey! He caused this too!” Rainbow deflected as she pointed at the blue hedgehog in question. “Besides, I have to use my Sonic Rainboom in order to beat him!”
“Aw, you name your new move after me? I’m honored Skittles!” Sonic quipped.
“In your dreams, hedgehog!” Rainbow spat. “And quit calling me Skittles!”
Before Sonic could respond, Twilight interjected. “So you drained all of our magic just so you can beat him in a race?" she shouted angrily. "What wrong with you!?”
“Technically, I beat her!” Sonic pointed out, annoyed the prismatic teen further.
“That doesn’t matter!” Twilight huffed, facing Rainbow with a stern expression. “Rainbow Dash… what you did was irresponsible! Because of your actions, we now have no magic!”
Rainbow Dash threw her hands up. “What’s the big deal!? Sunset said the same thing!”
“It’s a 'big deal' because we’re now defenseless!” Twilight responded, feeling aggravated about her friend's failing to understand the situation. “Without them, we won’t be able to defend ourselves in case G.U.N. catches us!”
Rainbow rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. “Look, I get it. I used too much magic, but you’re all overreacting! Just because we can’t use them now, that doesn’t mean they’re gone for good! It happened to us before, it will recharge itself in no time!”
“Oh yeah, it will recharge alright… after G.U.N. arrested us!” Applejack deadpanned.
“Oh c’mon, just chill out!" Rainbow growled in frustration. "We’re way far away from Canterlot City and we’re in the middle of the woods! What are the chances that they’ll find us?”
Just as Rainbow stated that question, a claw suddenly came out of nowhere and it wrapped around Twilight’s waist. Before anyone could register it, Twilight screamed as the claw pulled back, pulling Twilight along with it.
“Twilight!” Sunset shouted.
Twilight has pulled away from her friends at a great distance. She eventually reached the source of the claw and felt someone took a hold of her right wrist. Twilight turned her head around to face her captor, only her face went pale. Much to her and her friends' shock, it was none other than Agent Tempest Shadow, who stood right beside her car that was hidden behind the trees.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you girls,” Tempest stated, before giving everyone her amused expression. “Thanks so much for alerting me of your location with those pretty rainbows in the sky.”
Everyone, except for Twilight, turned and glared daggers at Rainbow Dash, who had a nervous expression on her face.
“Uh… you think she saw my Sonic Rainboom?" Rainbow asked sheepishly.
Sunset Shimmer facepalmed before giving Rainbow her furious expression. “Are. You. Kidding me!?” she shouted.
"There's nowhere for you to run and I have your friend," Tempest interrupted. "So I suggest you cooperate and come quietly."
"Fat chance!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "I'm coming Twilight!"
Rainbow Dash tried to tap into her magic as she ran towards Tempest, only for her to trip over and nearly fall flat on her face. She was confused as to why she didn't feel any of her magic flowing into her until her eyes widened in realization when she remembered her friends' warning from earlier.
"...Uh oh!" she muttered.
All of her friends facepalmed in response to Rainbow’s display.
Tempest frowned, not amused by Rainbow’s antics. “Now that we got that childish display out of the way, are you all willing to cooperate now?”
The girls and hedgehog looked at each other, not knowing what to do to get out of this situation. Spike growled angrily at the agent, but held himself back, not wanting to risk his friend getting hurt.
“Dis is bad Sunset,” Applejack whispered who stood near Sunset. “Without our magic, we can't do anythang!”
“Unlike Skittles there,” Sonic added quietly. “I still have my super speed, but I don’t want to put Brainiac at risk while Scar Lady is holding her?”
Sunset raised her eyebrow at Sonic. “‘Scar Lady’? Seriously?”
“What? It’s a good name for her!” Sonic defended.
“Well?” Tempest pressed, starting to get impatient. “Will you girls back down or not?”
Sunset gritted her teeth. She and her friends were so close to arriving at their destination, but Agent Tempest managed to find them, no thanks to Rainbow’s stupidity. What was even worse, their magic was completely drained and they couldn’t have Sonic to go save Twilight without the risk of her getting hurt. With Twilight currently held in that agent’s hand and with no magic, the ball is in their court now. All of their efforts to travel and avoid their confrontation will be for nothing. She rather not want to give in to Tempest’s demands, but she did not Twilight to get hurt because of her.
Once again, her friends have suffered… all because of her actions.
Just as Sunset was ready to reply, they all heard a sudden shout.
“Fire!”
Before anyone could react, a rocket shot through the bushes and went straight towards Tempest and Twilight. Tempest turned towards the sound of a rocket and her eyes widened as she saw it coming straight towards her. With Tempest momentarily distracted, Sonic quickly shot forward with his super-speed, grabbed Twilight out of Tempest’s grasp, and ran back towards the group with Twilight in his arms. Tempest barely had time to realize her hostage was missing as the rocket was now dangerously close to her. Tempest screamed with her right arm over her face just as the rocket struck her.
The teens all shut their eyes as they heard a loud explosion from the rocket, feeling a mild gust blowing through them afterward. They opened their eyes a moment later to see Sonic and Twilight now in front of them and a cloud of heavy smoke at the spot where Tempest was behind them.
“Twilight, are you okay?” Sunset exclaimed worriedly.
“I’m fine, thanks to Sonic,” Twilight answered before giving Sonic her thankful look.
Sonic smiled and gave her a thumbs-up in response.
“I’m glad you’re safe darling,” said Rarity as she looked around the area in confusion. “But where…?”
They all jumped and heard sudden ruffling coming from the bushes nearby. They all stood by, worried if they’re dealing with another enemy. To their relief and confusion, it was none other than the CMCs as they walked out of the bushes with proud smiles on their faces.
“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo?” Sunset uttered.
Applejack let out a huff, frowning at her younger sister’s sudden appearance. “What are you all doing over there? We thought you three are in bed!”
The three pre-teens suddenly became nervous from the question. After being nudged by both of her friends, it was Apple Bloom who replied.
“Um w-well, you see…”
Five Minutes Earlier…
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were wandering around the woods for quite some time now, not knowing where they’re going. After waking up from the earthquake, it was Scootaloo who spotted Sunset Shimmer running towards the wood from the window near her. When she didn’t see Rainbow Dash around, she realized that her sister-figure is still out there during this earthquake. While Scootaloo was still mad at Rainbow Dash for yelling at Sonic, she was very worried for her safety and wanted to see if she was okay.
Of course, she was prevented from leaving the bus by Applejack and the others just so they can “keep her safe”. But as soon as the Equestria Girls left the bus, Scootaloo decided to sneak out by going through the back of the bus. At first, her friends told her that it was best to stay in the bus, but after Scootaloo turned it around by asking what if their sisters never returned during an earthquake, they relented but only they allowed to come with her.
The only problem was, they had no idea where Sunset had gone, and they were lost in the woods for what felt like hours, despite being gone for less than a half-an-hour.
Apple Bloom let out an annoyed grunt as they continued their walk. “Ah can’t believe you’ve talked us into comin’ with you Scoots!”
Scootaloo gave Apple Bloom her look of disbelief. “Me? You’re the one who insisted on coming, Apple Bloom!”
“Dat’s only because we’re makin’ sure dat yer not doin’ anythang stupid than you are already!” Apple Bloom retorted before sighing. “Not dat it matters, because we’re lost!”
Before the two of them could argue some more, Sweetie saw something from up ahead.
“Hey girls, look!”
The two girls turned towards the direction and to their relief, they saw their campsite from behind the bushes.
“It’s da camp! Oh, thank Faust!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.
“And there’s Rainbow Dash and Sunset. And Sonic too!” Scootaloo added as she saw her sister and the others as well. “Thank goodness they’re okay!”
As they’re getting closer to their campsite, Sweetie Belle noticed one other person who was not there with them. “Wait, where’s...”
Sweetie’s mouth was suddenly covered by Apple Bloom’s hands. Before Sweetie could try to complain, Apple Bloom gave her a shush motion and then pointed at the direction section of the camp. When Sweetie looked in that direction, her eyes widened at the sight of Twilight being held captive by a scary-looking scar lady in a dark outfit.
The trio quickly ducked behind the bushes and listened to the exchange between The Equestria Girls and the scarred lady. They began to panic when they heard the scar lady’s demand to surrender themselves for her, presuming for Twilight’s safety as an exchange.
"Oh man, this is bad girls!” Scootaloo whispered with an alarmed expression. “Our sisters and the others are in trouble!"
"What should we do?" Sweetie Belle inquired, fearing for her sister’s safety.
Scootaloo thought for a second, trying to find the best way to help both their sisters and Twilight from danger. Then an idea came to her. She quickly turned to Apple Bloom.
“Apple Bloom, do you still have our rocket for our science project?” Scootaloo asked.
Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo a confused look. “Ah did. It’s in mah backpack... why?”
Scootaloo motioned her friends to come closer to her and then she quietly explained her plan to them. When she was finished, her friends stared at her as she had just grown a second head.
“Scoots… are ya crazy!” Apple Bloom exclaimed but kept her voice down. “It’s too risky! What if we hit Twilight by accident? Or even our sisters?”
“Not to mention, we spent weeks setting up that rocket!” Sweetie Belle added with a squeak. “We won’t be able to make another one before our due date!”
“Our class grades are the least of our concerns!” said Scootaloo before pointing at Twilight and the scarred lady. “That scary lady is holding Twilight hostage and our friends couldn’t do anything while holding her, so we don’t have a choice!”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchange each other’s looks, still feeling conflicted. Despite how crazy Scootaloo’s idea was, they were more worried about their sisters, not wanting that lady to take them away. With a silent nod of agreement, the two turned their sights on Scootaloo again.
“Fine, we’ll do it… but Ah need help to set up and to aim!”
The trio quickly got to work as they pulled their rocket from Apple Bloom’s backpack and set it up. They knew that they were running out of time, so they need to set this up as fast as they can. As they put they were putting together the set, they heard a slight commotion behind them, coming from Rainbow Dash. They began to feel nervous when they heard the scarred lady telling them to come quietly again.
Thankfully, the CMCs finished setting up their rocket at a record time. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pointed the rocket towards the lady while Scootaloo took the match that was for the firepit out of her pocket, preparing to light it. They only have one shot at this and it had to be accurate.
“On mah mark…” Apple Bloom muttered, still adjusting the aim of the rocket.
Scootaloo lit up the match and hovered it over the line, getting into position. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were finally on set with their aim just as Sunset was about to answer the scary lady’s demand.
“Fire!” Apple Bloom shouted.
Scootaloo lit up the line and then the rocket took off.
Applejack sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of her nose in irritation. “Dang it Apple Bloom… what you three just did was beyond reckless!”
The CMCs craned their necks, dejected from her remark.
“But," Applejack continued. "Ah suppose you girls saved Twilight from that woman, so that was some good quick thinkin'.”
"Yeah, it was awesome!" Rainbow added. "Who would've thought your science project would be used against a bad guy?"
"You're questionable project aside, we wanted to thank you for saving Twilight," said Rarity.
The CMCs eyes brighten from her praise.
“So does that mean we’re no longer in trouble?” Apple Bloom asked with a smile.
Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Don't push it!”
Apple Bloom muttered irritability in response.
Twilight cleared her throat. “In any case, was that rocket even necessary? Don’t get me wrong, we appreciate it, but that seems excessive.”
While everyone was busy talking to one another Fluttershy noticed from the corner of her eye that a familiar silhouette appeared from within the smoke. Her eyes widened in fear.
“Uh… g-girls?
“We didn’t mean to hurt her!” said Apple Bloom. “We were only tryin’ to scare her to release Twilight, honest! And we didn’t have a choice!”
“G-girls?”
“I know you three don’t mean to harm her,” Sunset said gently, but with urgency. “But I don’t want her to get hurt either.”
“Yeah, I hope she’s okay!” Pinkie added.
“Excuse me, girls?”
“Sunset, she’s our enemy!” Rainbow argued. “And she just holds Twilight hostage. If you ask me, she had it coming!”
“Girls!”
“Enemy or not, no one deserved to have a rocket blown up in their faces… literally!” said Twilight. “I suggest we should call the hospital.”
Rarity nodded. “I agree, but we have a slight problem darling, we have no phones! How are we going to get help?”
“I could run and find a nearby hospital,” Sonic offered.
“But do you know where to find one near here?” Sunset inquired. “And even if you did, wouldn’t that risk you getting caught?”
Sonic rubbed his chin in thought. “Hmm… good point.”
“Girls!”
Everyone jumped from Fluttershy’s loud screaming, who blushed in embarrassment.
“What is it, Fluttershy?” Sunset exclaimed. “What’s the prob–”
Her words died in her throat as she faced the direction where Fluttershy was pointing. Everyone else followed her example, and their faces became pale, shocked, and horrified at what they were seeing. With the smoke all cleared up, they all saw Tempest Shadow standing there with an angry expression, not a single scratch on her. But what really caught their attention was her right arm, which was now exposed after the explosion destroyed parts of her jacket.
It wasn’t a regular arm at all. It was a black, metal, robotic arm.
Tempest eyed her arm before looking back up at them with a glare and clenched her fist. “That… was my best jacket!”
The gang's eyes were wide and their jaws were dropped.
“She... she has a robotic arm!?” Twilight cried out in shock.
“No way!” Sunset exclaimed.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“Cool!” said Sonic. He blinked in confusion when everyone turned towards him. “What? Am I not allowed to admire one’s arm?”
“I think it’s cool!” Pinkie chirped. "She kinda reminded me of a superhero character from a Mare-vel comic… except that she's not a hero."
“Well, that certainly explained why her arm felt like a rock when I tried to bite her,” said Spike while keeping his eyes on that agent.
“Alright,” Tempest interjected. “Now you kids are testing my patience! I hate to resort to this, but because of your refusal to cooperate, I’ll now have to force my hand.”
“...your robotic hand or your real hand?” Pinkie asked in her confused tone.
Tempest growled in response.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Twilight leaned over near Sonic and whispered something in his ear. Once she was finished, Sonic gave Twilight a nod before he zoomed towards Tempest.
“Enough of this!” Tempest shouted in frustration. “You’re all coming with–”
“Incoming!”
Before Tempest had time to react, Sonic tackled her over towards the edge of the woods and the two of them fell and rolled down the deep hill in the process.
"Sonic!" Sunset shouted.
Before she could run after them, Twilight quickly grabbed her shoulder.
“He’ll be fine,” said Twilight. Before Sunset could ask, Twilight added, “I’ll explain later.” She then faced her friends. “Everyone, get on the bus! Hurry!”
Without being told twice, everyone ran towards the bus. Before Applejack could follow them, Twilight stopped her.
“AJ, will you come with me for a second? I need your help!”
Sonic and Tempest continued to wrestle with each other as they kept tumbling down the hill. Tempest struggled to try to pry the hedgehog off of her while Sonic kept hanging on to her as long as he could. They eventually reached the bottom of the hill of the woods, with Tempest lying in her back. It was then Tempest finally got a good grip of the hedgehog and threw him off away from her. Sonic quickly pivoted himself in midair before he landed gracefully on his feet while eyeing his opponent in his battle pose.
Tempest growled as she stood up, glaring at the hedgehog all the while. This was the second time she had seen the hedgehog in person. While she read many strange things about magic and creatures involving those girls, she never thought she'd get to see a creature in person, let alone have to fight it. He was also responsible for causing that huge mess at Canterlot City to begin with. While she doesn’t know why that thing was hanging around with those girls, all she knows was he was trying to keep her from going near them. She won’t let that creature stop her from fulfilling her mission, even if she has to fight him.
"You're in my way, pest!" Tempest barked.
"Sorry lady, but if you want to get to them, you're going to have to go through me first!" Sonic remarked.
Tempest narrowed her eyes, clenching her metal fist. "I see… then I guess I have no choice but to take you down!"
Sonic grinned. “Bring it on!”
With a growl, Tempest raised her robotic arm over her head and ran towards Sonic. When she was close to him, Tempest brought down her fist, crushing some rocks in the process of where he stood. Tempest blinked as she lifted her fist from where she punched, only to see nothing there except for a large dent on the ground which was caused by her. Now on alert, Tempest surveyed around the woods, looking for the missing hedgehog.
“You know…”
Tempest quickly turned around towards the voice, seeing Sonic with his back turn while crossing his arms. Sonic turned his head back slightly with a cocky grin.
“I'm torn to call you either Scar Lady or Miss Robo-Arm. What do you think?”
With a growl, Tempest swung her fist at him, only for him to disappear again. Before she could utter a word, she heard him talking again, but he was standing next to her this time.
“Hmm... I guess you're just as torn as I am,” Sonic mused before smiling. “How about we brainstorm some more names?”
Tempest threw a punch towards him again as her response, but he disappeared yet again. She suddenly felt a weight on her head. To her annoyance, it was Sonic who was on top of her.
“Oh! Would you rather we continue with our warm-ups? I'm game! I heard it's really great to get your creative juices flowing!” he joked.
Tempest let out an infuriating scream as she began to barrage Sonic with her punches, determined to land a single hit on that annoying creature. Unfortunately for her, Sonic easily dodge every single one of her punches, making faces at her as she did so.
“Do. You. Ever. Shut. Up?” Tempest shouted in between her punches.
Tempest continued to throw her punches, but Sonic kept on backing away from her without breaking a sweat. He kept on dodging and leading Tempest deeper into the woods until they eventually reached the riverbank with water flowing by. Just before Sonic could touch the water, Sonic leaped away from Tempest and landed on a rock in the middle of a river before leaping to the next rock. Tempest leaped after him, punching each rock as she did so. Sonic eventually landed on the other side of the river before he turned and ran into the woods with her following him.
As he ran deeper into the woods, Sonic looked back with a cocky grin, seeing Tempest more frustrated by the second. While she isn't as fast as Rainbow Dash, Sonic will give her credit for being determined. With a quick salute, Sonic rushed ahead and ran up along a short cliff and then on a tree. Sonic kept on running up the tree until he reached the very top. His focus on his battle was temporarily forgotten as he surveyed the area with his hand hovering above his eyes to block the moonlight.
“Huh, not a bad view!” said Sonic with a grin, soaking in the land as far as he can see.
Suddenly, he felt the whole tree begin to shake. At first, he thought it was an earthquake until he glanced down to see Tempest punching the tree with her robotic hand. To his shock, he noticed that the huge dent on the tree grew bigger with each punch from her. After Tempest gave the tree one last strong punch, causing the tree to start tip over with him on in. With a yelp, Sonic held on to the tree until he let go and curled into a ball before the tree hit the ground. He bounced on the ground a few times near the fallen tree until he rolled himself down the hill and into the water of the stream.
Sonic uncurled himself and started screaming, fearing getting drowned again.
“Gah! Help me!” Sonic screamed fearfully, failing his arms while trying to keep himself afloat. “I can’t swim! Ahhhh!”
He continued to scream and flail around, hoping for someone to come save him. Suddenly he stopped when he realized that he wasn’t downing or even sinking into the water. In fact, he felt like he was sitting on the ground despite his waist being underwater. He looked down and he realized that the whole stream was shallow, which was not deep enough for him to drown at all. He suddenly looked up when he heard someone clearing their throat, which turned out to be Tempest with an unamused frown on her face.
With a blush on his face, Sonic chuckled sheepishly. “It’s a good thing that I fell in a kiddie pool!”
Tempest grunted. “Enough games, hedgehog! I know you're faster than me, but you're not taking this fight seriously! Why is that?”
“Oh, I don't know,” Sonic trailed off with a fake ponder expression before smirking. “Maybe it was because I'm actually here as a diversion!”
Tempest cocked a brow in confusion, not understanding the creature’s words. Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization. She had been so busy trying to chase and to hit this creature, she never once considered that his whole purpose was to get him away from the campsite and to give the girls a chance to escape. Her face morphed from bewilderment to full-on rage.
Sonic chuckled at the sight of the agent’s expression and gave her a salute. “Well, it's been fun, but I gotta run!”
Before she could blink, Sonic ran past her and through the woods towards the direction of the camp, leaving a blue blur trail behind.
“Hey!” She shouted.
With time on the essence, Tempest quickly used her grappling hook from her wrist and swung after the blue blur. The blue blur kept going further and further from her towards the campsite, making it difficult for her to catch up. Despite that, Tempest went as fast as she could, launching one grappling hook after another and also hopping at every single tree branch she could find at a record pace.
Eventually, Tempest reached back to the campsite, only to find that this place had been abandoned with no one or the bus on site. She searched her eyes around the area until she spotted a fresh set of tracks, leading to a dirt road that was heading towards the highway. She also got a full whiff of car exhaust near those tracks, leading her to believe that their departure was recent.
“They won't get away from me!” Tempest muttered as she ran towards her car.
Even with Grubber’s lousy car, she can still catch up to those teens within a few minutes on full throttle. She jumped inside the vehicle and turned on the ignition. Unfortunately for her, her car wouldn’t start. Instead, it made a lot of sputtering noises before it died.
“What!?” Tempest exclaimed as she tried to start her car again. “No, no, no, no! Not now!”
She kept turning on the ignition, again and again, to get the car to start, but the car failed on her every single time. Out of frustration, Tempest let out a loud shout and slammed her robotic fist on the steering wheel, accidentally breaking the wheel off and causing the horn to go off in the process. With a grunt, Tempest slammed her forehead on a dashboard.
Note to self: Tempest thought irritatedly. Dock some of Grubber’s salary after this mission.
As the bus was speeding down the highway, the girls let out a sigh of relief when they see that Tempest wasn't following them.
“Dat was close!” said Applejack before glancing at Twilight with a back view mirror. “That was some quick thinkin' on havin' Sonic distract her for us to escape Twi.”
Twilight nodded. “I figured with his speed, he’ll buy us some time for us to escape with her none the wiser.”
“I could’ve done that…” Rainbow Dash muttered, crossing her arms with a pout.
Fluttershy had a worried frown on her face. “But was it a good idea to leave him behind? I hope Sonic is okay!”
“Hi, there!”
Everyone screamed at the sound of a new voice. Even Applejack nearly lost control of the bus from the surprise visitor. They relaxed somewhat when they realized that it was Sonic, who suddenly appeared and sat on one of the seats of the bus.
“Don't do that!” Rainbow screamed in annoyance and shock while trying to calm herself down.
“Yeah, you nearly gave us a heart attack!” Sunset added but sounded calmer than her prismatic-haired friend.
“Sorry about that,” Sonic said with a sheepish smile. “But good news, thanks to my efforts, that lady won't be following us anymore.”
Rainbow crossed her arms with a frown. “Yeah, but for how long hedgehog? As long as she has her car, it would only be a matter of time before she catches up to us.”
Twilight suddenly chuckled maniacally, causing almost everyone to stare at her in worry and concern. “Oh, she would have… but not without this!”
Twilight then took out something shiny from her skirt pocket for everyone to see.
“Is that… a spark plug?” Fluttershy asked quizzingly. “Why do you have that?”
Rainbow Dash suddenly widened her eyes, realizing what Twilight was implying with that item. “Wait, don’t tell me…”
With a grin, Twilight nodded. “Yep! With some help from AJ, we managed to quickly swipe this thing from her car while Sonic distracted her.”
Applejack gave Twilight her a thumb-up while still focusing on the road ahead of her.
Pinkie grinned. “Oh, I get it! You didn’t just have Sonic to distract her for us to escape, but to also slow her down by stealing her spark plug from her car!”
Twilight winked. “Bingo! I figured she'd try to chase us the moment we fled, which was why I removed it. Without that spark plug, she's pretty much a sitting duck.”
“Well, I gotta say, that’s very clever darling,” Rarity complimented. “We’re so glad that you’re with us!”
“Rare’s right Twi,” said Applejack. “You’ve been savin’ our hides since the beginnin’! We would never get this far without yer quick thinkin’!”
Twilight blushed. “Oh, I doubt that. I’m sure you guys would have come up with a better plan.”
“But no one comes up with a better plan than you, Twilly!” Pinkie chirped. “And you’re more organized than any of us!”
“I’m with Cotton Candy Girl here,” Sonic added. “You’re the brains of this group. If anyone can get us out of a sticky situation with their smarts, it’s you, Brainiac!”
Rainbow huffed. “Yeah… especially that it was you who got us in a sticky situation in the first place!”
There were collective groans all around the bus from Rainbow’s provoking remarks again.
Sonic frowned at Rainbow. “Hey, that time wasn’t my fault! Who was it that released that colorful rainbow in the sky again?”
“Well, who was it that released that blue wave in the sky and caught the attention of the military, hedgehog!?" Rainbow retorted.
Before a fight broke off, Sunset stood up from her seat. "That’s enough!"
Nearly everyone, including Rainbow and Sonic from Sunset’s angry tone. Sunset continued to rant before either of them could speak up.
"We just escaped from a super soldier agent–"
"With a robotic arm," Pinkie added.
Sunset rolled her eyes but continued. "And now you two are having another fight!" She glared daggers at the two in question. "At this point, I don’t care how it all started, all I care about is for all of us to get to Manehattan in one piece! You two nearly have us all captured by Agent Tempest, all because of your petty rivalry! Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves!"
Sonic looked down, feeling ashamed of his actions, while Rainbow Dash appeared to be annoyed by Sunset’s scolding.
"Oh come on! How could I be just to blame as him?" Rainbow complained.
"Because you carelessly used all of our magic for that stupid race and lead that agent to us while we're completely defenseless!" Sunset said angrily.
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to argue.
"And don't even bring up about that blue wave again because that is a separate matter," Sunset snapped.
Rainbow scowled and threw her arms up. "This is ridiculous! I didn't race against that overgrown blue rat because of petty rivalry. I raced against him so that I can protect you guys!"
"Oh really?" Sunset challenged. "Were you actually trying to protect us, or for your own ego?"
There was tense silence from within the bus, making everyone, including Sonic, felt very uncomfortable. Rainbow slowly stood up with an angry glare, offended by Sunset’s words. Before the two of them could start arguing, someone spoke up.
"Wait!"
They all turned to see it was Sonic who spoke but still appeared to be ashamed and guilty.
“Please stop fighting! The last thing I wanted was to break up your friendships because of me!”
Sunset’s anger at Rainbow was forgotten when she looked at Sonic in concern. “Sonic, this isn’t your–”
Sonic raised his hand up, stopping Sunset from speaking anymore. He let out a sad sigh.
"I'm sorry, Sunset… and I’m sorry to you too girls," he said, not looking Sunset in the eye. “Rainbow Dash is right… I am just to blame, maybe even more than her. I shouldn’t even have to race against her, but both my anger towards her and my competitive spirit made me determined to beat her.”
Rainbow Dash blinked in surprise. She expected him to put more blame onto her including her ‘Sonic Rainboom’ debacle, but instead, he took full responsibility.
“And even before that," Sonic continued, rubbing his shoulder. "I wasn’t being careful with my powers when I played baseball by myself… even when I got a little upset that night. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble for everyone here.”
“Why were you upset that night?” Fluttershy asked.
Sonic was quiet for a moment, hesitant to answer Fluttershy's simple questions.
"W-well…" he mumbled.
“Was it because you’re lonely?”
Sonic looked up to Sunset with widened eyes, who was staring down at him with a sympathetic expression.
“Despite that, you were having a blast at playing baseball by yourself… there wasn’t anyone around to share the fun with you?” Sunset asked softly.
Sonic looked down again.
“...yeah,” Sonic admitted with a sigh. “While it was fun to pretend I’m playing two teams at once… it just wasn’t the same as that game I watched the other day with those three. As much as I want to join in, I have to keep myself hidden without being discovered… and to be captured by anyone who would abuse my powers for themselves.”
“You mean... people have chased you for being a creature and for your powers?” asked Fluttershy, feeling her heartbreak for the blue hedgehog.
Sonic breathed through his nose. “Yeah… it’s always been that way since I was born. I could never have friends when I’m being chased down all the time… let alone have a life here. All I can do… is to keep running.”
Everyone, even Rainbow Dash stared at the blue hedgehog with a look of pity. This never occurred to any of them that despite how friendly and energized this creature was, that he was actually very lonely. It was bad enough that he’s been running all his life, but it was also tough for him to be the only one of his kind, trapped in a world that he originally lived elsewhere. It was a feeling that Sunset knew all too well what it was like.
They watched as Sonic slowly got up from his seat. "Anyway, you should probably pull over AJ… I'll try to find my rings myself. Thanks for the lift."
Everyone’s eyes widened at the broken tone of his voice. Despite AJ not complying with Sonic’s request, he still made his way over to the back of the bus, presuming to hop out of it. Before anyone voiced out their protests, someone beat them to it.
“And just where do you think you’re going?”
Sonic stopped in his tracks and turned towards Rainbow Dash, who had an angry expression on her face, with a confused expression.
“Uh… leaving the bus?” Sonic answered, perplexed at Rainbow’s sudden attitude.
With a grunt, Rainbow crossed her arms. “We just barely escaped from that super-soldier agent lady–”
“With a robotic arm!” Pinkie added again, but Rainbow ignored her.
“And we’re more than halfway to Manehatten, so…” Rainbow huffed, turning somewhat away from the blue hedgehog. “You might as well stick around a little longer.”
Everyone, even Sonic was shocked by Rainbow’s sudden change of heart.
“But… what about our bet?” he asked.
“Our bet is for you to leave if I beat you!” Rainbow explained. “But since our race is currently… unfinished, it’s null and void!”
Sonic eyes widened. “Rainbow Dash…”
“But only for now!” Rainbow added with a huff. “The next time we race, we’ll finish it for real!”
She grimaced when she noticed everyone, sans Sonic, was glaring at her again.
“...without our powers as our handicap,” Rainbow quickly finished.
Sunset’s eyes narrowed. While she appreciated that Rainbow Dash convinced Sonic to stay and to cut back on her attitude, that doesn’t mean that Rainbow was completely out of hot water just yet.
“You better not!” Sunset warned. “You’re still on thin ice you know!”
Rainbow waved her off before she sat back in her seat. “Yeah, yeah, yeah…”
Sunset rolled her eyes but gave Sonic her friendly smile. “Well you heard her, you can stay. And we would like for you to stay too.”
Everyone nodded with smiles on their faces, feeling the same as Sunset. Sonic stared at everyone in disbelief, couldn’t believe this group was still very accepting despite his mistakes. He felt a lump in his throat but he quickly shook that off and gave everyone his heartfelt smile.
“...Thank you.”
“Well don’t stand there Sonic, come and join us!” Apple Bloom encouraged, gesturing towards her seat with her friends.
Without hesitation, Sonic rushed over to join them. Everyone else smiled at the site before they started to have their own conversations with one another. Sunset’s smile faded and let out a low sigh. She made her way towards the front of the bus, only to be stopped by Rainbow.
“Hey Sunset, when you saved us, did you–”
“Not now Rainbow Dash!” Sunset spoke quickly, gesturing to Sonic behind her with her head who was busy chatting with the CMCs. “We’ll talk later!”
As Sunset left headed to the front, Rainbow secretly grasped on her “special item” from her pocket again. She silently wondered if letting the hedgehog stay with him was the right thing to do, despite still not knowing where that hedgehog stands. But after that sudden display from him earlier, Rainbow wasn’t sure what to make of him anymore.
Meanwhile, Sunset had her own problems. While she was glad that her friends still gave him a chance, but she still felt guilty that the only reason she understood was because that she unintentionally sees Sonic's memories. She knew that she can't keep it to herself and that she has to come clean to Sonic eventually, but not right now. Her main focus was to help get her and her friends to Manhatten safely before something else happens.
She eventually reached towards Applejack at the front of the bus, who was still busy driving as she kept her eyes on a long dark road ahead.
“How much gas do we have left?” Sunset asked.
Applejack sighed. “Welp, I reckon we have another hour before we’re out of gas unless we find another gas station if we’re lucky.”
Sunset nodded. “Then I guess we have no choice but to keep going, just in case if she was following us.”
“I doubt she’ll be able to catch up to us anytime soon,” said Applejack. “But I suppose you can’t be too careful.”
Sunset frowned. “Quite frankly, I hope that's the last we see of her.”
Tempest eventually reached the end of a dirt road and made it to the entrance of the highway. When she realized that her car won’t start and was wasting time, she decided to keep trailing those kids on foot. Normally, she would call Grubber for backup, but he never responded; probably still angry at her for taking his car, or he was too busy stuffing his face with sponge cake again.
Her money’s on the latter.
She then considered getting a hold of someone from the G.U.N. agency to come to get her instead but decided against it. Most of the agents are working for Robotnik right now. Chances are, he’ll have them either ditched her out of spite or take her to Commander Walters and have her forced off of duty instead. Neither is an option to her and did not want to waste enough time as it was already, so she decided to keep pursuing those girls and that creature, even if she had to chase them on foot.
Normally, it would have been foolish to keep pursuing at this point, especially that those teens have gotten away again, but this time, she was prepared thanks to her secret weapon. Tempest took out a small device from her pants pocket and activated it. A bunch of green lines and red dots appeared on the screen. The green lines representing the map of the entire area, technically the entire world, and the red dots represented the people of interest. The first red dot is herself of course, which came from the device itself. The second dot came from a tiny tracker which she managed to plant on one of the girls.
Specifically, from the girl with the specs that she captured earlier.
Tempest knew that those kids would somehow get that girl back from her clutches, so she secretly placed that small tracker on that girl’s hairband without her noticing. Even though they were miles away from her by now, but as long as she has her device and her tracker still activate, it would be a matter of time before she caught up to them again.
Those kids can run as far as they want, she thought. With this thing and that tracker… they can't hide from me.
The gang may have gotten away, but Tempest is still on their tail! 
After this chapter, we're pretty much following the movie again. For those who have seen it, I'm pretty sure you all know what the next scene is gonna be. However, there will be a slight alter to that, but that's all I'm going to say. 
So, some notes and references:
That humorous exchange between Rainbow and Sunset if Tempest found her because of her 'Sonic Rainboom', was a callback to that moment from the MLP: The Movie when Rainbow asked the same question to Twilight after she inadvertently led Tempest towards their hiding place, which was Captian Celaeno's airship.
Pinkie mentioning Tempest's arm reminded her of a "hero" from a Mare-vel comic was again, a reference to The Winter Soldier from the Marvel comics.
The battle music I used for this chapter was called: Shut Up, Faker! from Sonic Adventure 2.
The fight scene between Sonic and Tempest was a callback to various moments from Sonic X, Episode 5: Cracking Knuckles. Including:
1) The battle took place near the valley.
2) Tempest chases and tries to punch Sonic, while Sonic easily dodges her.
3) Sonic ran to the top of the tree and then enjoys the view.
4) Tempest punching a tree down, like how Knuckles did at one point.
5) Sonic humorlessly thought that he was "drowning" in a shallow stream.
That part always cracks me up! 
The last one isn't a reference, but I'm kinda curious: Scar Lady or Miss Robo-Arm?
Anyway, stay tuned for next week! 
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Finally, Rainbow and Sonic are on good terms. Well, almost, but close enough. I'm already excited for the bar scene.
I hope Sunset or Sonic would tell them the truth.
Now that was a totally and awesome chapter that was and tempest has a robotic arm now that's something and i can't wait to see what happens next
Finally, a reconciliation!!!!
Well, sort of.
Anywho, next comes the gas station/bar!
I still can't wait for Sonic to meet Cadence and shining armor!!
I opt for "Scar Lady"...
And finally... FINALLY...
THE BAR SCENE IS COMING, YUJU
!!!!!
Hey there! I posted an idea and have been waiting for you to reply back if you like my idea. Here it is again in case you didn't read it.
Part of me hopes that the spite argument will be skipped.
Excellent job on the exchanges, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Definitely understood why the girls would be so upset about Sonic and Rainbow's stunt, but I also have to respect how the Crusaders were willing to risk their science project to save Twilight. And, unfortunately, while Twi did some pretty clever thinking with that sabotage to Tempest's car, Tempest did some clever thinking of her own with that tracking device. Though the fight between Sonic and Tempest was great too. As for the nickname, I would probably go for "Scar-Lady" as the "Robo-Arm" thing sounds a little too similar to some versions of Robotnik.
Anyway, very certainly looking forward to more of this.
I have to admit, the little rescue the CMC pulled was surprisingly awesome. I also loved how Sonic vs Tempest was a big callback to the first fight between Sonic and Knuckles in Sonic X.
The famous bar scene is coming soon and I am excited for it.
You ever notice when all someone cares about is their favorite/best piece of clothing getting destroyed like a jacket or suit, it is right before they start kicking major ass?
If Dash was surprised at Sonic's speed last chapter, I can't wait when she realizes Sonic can move so fast it looks like time stopped for him. I wonder though, can someone experience this if they're holding onto Sonic?
A great chapter that shows Sonic coming clean and the girls continuing their road trip to help him. Tempest is definitely determined. I say for her nickname, go with "Scar-Bot Arm". Mix the two together. If not, go with Scar Lady. Twilight removing the plug was also a smart move.
I'm looking forward to the bar's slow motion antics. I see it happening while the gang is stopped for gas. Sonic sees the place nearby and grabs spare clothes from luggage for a disguise. Maybe swiping AJ's hat itself.
10913181
You don't mess with somebody's favorite outfit.
10913305
And Sunset will try to talk to Celestia using the phone booth to tell her that they are fine, but she will not know that Robotnik is there...
AND KNOWS ABOUT EQUESTRIA
!!!!
10913720
Oh, like Eggman actually stands a chance there. If any of the Princesses got serious, he'd be something's breakfast.
10913862
Yeah. But if the writers did it that logically, the story would be over much too quickly.
Kind of the same reason (most versions of) Superman doesn't just vaporize Luthor at a distance too far away for the latter's Kryptonite to do any good even though the former is definitely powerful enough to do it.
10913928
Yup.
Curious if you will use the idea I gave for the bar scene with how Sonic goes in disguised
MLP Movie reference
Sonic X quotes and references
A little different from what I was expecting but I love the chapter none the less. Love the reference to episode 5 of Sonic X. If next is the bar scene, I look forward to that. Anytime I hear Sonic eating a chili dog, I think of Sonic Satam my favorite Sonic cartoon
Another fun chapter. :) Rainbow and Sonic got a good scolding from Sunset before they were found by Tempest. And good on the CMC being think quickers by stopping her for doing anything rash to Twilight. And Sonic's fight with Tempest was fun, a callback to the fight in Sonic X episode 5, especially that one funny scene. XD And a robotic arm for Tempest? That's awesome! :D And good on Twilight stopping Tempest the way she did. :) And good thing Rainbow stopped Sonic from leaving, and she was indeed protecting her own ego not her friends. Rainbow, even though you and Sonic are responsible for bringing Tempest to you, you are still on very thin ice and I guess we'll see if things will get better or worse between you and him.
10904710
Agreed. It was definitely one of the best scenes in the entire show in my opinion.
10902872
Hey there, sorry for missing your original message.
While it sounds like a good idea to include these characters since they're from the original MLP movie, but unfortunately, when I first planned to write this story, these characters never come to mind and the ship has pretty much been sailed for the remainder of this story.
I could include maybe one or two of these characters as a background cameo appearance, but don't hold your breath.
Thanks for the comment.
10913982
I already came up with a disguise for Sonic to wear. As for what that is... let's just say it's a blast to the past for many Sonic fans!
10916012
Hmm... So many disguises to remember hehe
Question, if you update every Saturday why do the chapters say Sunday?
10917558
That's because this site was originally created in England by knighty. I can assure you, I posted these chapters on a Saturday night, at least in the US. Even when I logged in, it said I posted my chapters on Saturdays. For whatever reason by default, when you're not logged in or if you live in the UK, it shows the posted date from England.
For example: when posting a chapter at 8pm on Saturday in the US, it's also 1am on Sunday in England.
cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/Er7vK5JSdS1voeQg05sL1C09Kmw=/80x16:1280x916/1200x900/media/img/mt/2014/09/The_More_You_Know/original.png
Yep!!!
God damn it Dash.
but she did not want Twilight to get hurt because of her.*
can. As they were putting together the set,*
You mean Bucky aka the winter solider?
wasn't drowning or sinking into the water.*
But not the best timing.
Looks like someone's stranded.
So that's what she did. Clever.
You better!
stay with them was the right thing to do,*
chance, she felt guilty*
Oh boy!